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First and foremost, deathcrash approached the task of putting together their debut album as music lovers. To all four members, a good album seemed to stamp out periods of their life, capturing a time, a feeling, a mood. This was their approach when trying to make whole two-years-worth of fragmented songwriting. Their songs may differ from each other in certain ways, but they manage to conjure similar feelings. ‘Return’ captures many of the difficult moments of the last couple years in the band members’ personal lives and yet, as a whole its complexity emerges as a beautiful and hopeful message. Amongst other things, writing the album was a cathartic process for the band, and so it can be for the listener too. The first parts of ‘Return’ came from quite a dark and jaded place. To get better can be a path marred by self-sabotage and a desire to hide. It can be easier to have no faith in something new, and rely on the comfort of an old feeling, even if it hurts. There is a reassurance in pain, a familiarity in its narrative. Return asks when things heal, where does the wound go? deathcrash recorded Return with their close friend and producer Ric James, who they’ve worked with since their early recordings. The album was recorded live, with an emphasis on dynamics, bringing together tense intimacy with atmospheric vastness. The members brought things to light they previously hadn’t, and shared words, riffs, ideas and thoughts for the first time. Each band member is able to see something that the others can’t, and write something unique. For deathcrash that is where the magic of making the album happens, when it clicks for everyone. As the album took form, a lot went on, and in many ways deathcrash got back in touch with a newer, more open feeling, sometimes happy, sometimes fearful. Something good returned that had previously been lost, and this is captured on the album. The album aims not to romanticise a dark place however, being equally about hope and renewal.

Omowale is the powerful new album from Wildchild, one third of the legendary Lootpack crew and a formidable solo artist who released many projects on the iconic Stones Throw Records. Across the 15 tracks, the Cali rapper deftly explores what it means to be a Black man in the U.S. today with timely, poignant lyrics. It’s a hard-hitting look at this country and its decades of wrongdoing, all with an air of optimism for the future. This album is Wildchild’s first solo release since 2016’s T.G.I.F., though he’s clearly kept busy in the interim by working on Omowale and making a number of standout guest appearances. Many of his past collaborators are returning the favor, as we’re treated to dope features from Posdnuos (of De La Soul), Big Daddy Kane, Guilty Simpson, Ras Kass, Murs, and more. Plus, there’s head-nodding production from Madlib, Nottz, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Mr. Brady, among others. They’re all bringing their A-game on Omowale, an impeccably produced album beyond its instrumentation and rhymes. Wildchild builds on the project’s narrative by incorporating audio from newscasts, protests, and other live events. He also brings that real-world feel to his lyrics, from joyful raps with his son (Black-ish actor/emcee Miles Brown) on the funky “G.O.A.T.” to raw rhymes about police brutality on “Breathe.”
When the album culminates with “Say Their Name”—a moving tribute to the rap legends we’ve lost over the years—Wildchild proves on Omowale that you can balance hope with the harsh, unjust realities of the world.

Brand new album by the legendary Swamp Dogg.In 1954, 12 year old
Jerry Williams, then performing under the name Little Jerry Williams,
made his first recording for Mechanic Records, a blues stomp with a
shockingly mature vocal performance - Through the 60"s Williams' career
developed with a number of successful singles, including 'I'm the Lover
Man' and 'Baby You're My Everything', as well as writing and producing
hits for Dee Dee Warwick, Doris Duke, and Patti LaBelle and the Blue
Belles. It was in 1970, however, that the full extent of Williams' eccentric
creative genius was unleashed on the world for the first time, with the
birth of his musical alter-ego, Swamp Dogg
Created to 'occupy the body while the search party was out looking for Jerry
Williams, who was mentally missing in action due to certain pressures, maltreatments and failure to get paid royalties on over fifty single records,' the
Swamp Dogg alias, still in use today, allowed Williams to create music that was
bolder, raunchier, and more honest to his creative instincts. The Dogg's cult
classic debut 'Total Destruction to Your Mind' struck a powerful blend of Williams
classic soulful sensibilities and the blooming psychedelia of the time. Infused in
the swirling brew is Swamp's blink- and- you'll- miss- it humor, a number of acid
odes, and a heavy dose of sharp political insight. Though the psychedelic
strangeness alienated R&B fans of the time, and the authentic R&B infrastructure
prevented it from clicking with hippie audiences, it has retroactively received
legendary status in cult music circles.Now, 50 years after Total Destruction
introduced Swamp Dogg to an unprepared world, and nearly 70 since Little Jerry
Williams went into the studio for Mechanic, Williams brings us I Need A Job' So I
Can Buy More Autotune. A spiritual successor to 2018"s hit Love, Loss and
Autotune, this album continues to push Swamp's sonic exploration of the effect
as one of his many creative weapons. In the extended tradition of Total
Destruction, Swamp Dogg's 2021 LP neatly balances sleek modern production
techniques with that classic Dogg sound that has anchored William's music since
the 70s. Subtle yet soulful drumming, skin- tight horn grooves and meandering
funk guitar leads create a sonic landscape fitting Swamp Dogg's iconic croon,
occasionally drenched in the titular autotune. At 78, Swamp Dogg is as sharp of a
singer and songwriter as ever. His raunchy yet charismatic sense of humor takes
a more forward role on I Need a Job' So I Can Buy More Autotune, with earnestly
delivered lyrics about all day sex and an entire song dedicated to the perils of
'Cheating in the Daylight.' Many of the record's most charming moments emerge
from the juxtaposition of Swamp's left field humor with genuine messages of
love, such as 'She Got That Fire', which weaves descriptions of imagined sex acts,
including but not limited to an encounter involving edible underwear, in between
relatively wholesome proclamations like 'she must be an angel on earth,' and
'when she looks at you, it's like sunshine from her eyes'. I Need a Job does more
than prove that Swamp's still got it, it proves he's still getting better.

By All Means (Feat. Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard,
Lee Ritenour, Seawind Horns)
Reissue of Alphonse Mouzon's killer 1981 album 'By All Means', featuring
Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and Lee Ritenour - the album is a
classic of the period, blending funk, disco, and improvisational creativity
At the time of his death in 2016 at the age of 68, drummer, composer and multiinstrumentalist Alphonse Mouzon had for decades been a major force within the
jazz, fusion, R&B and pop arenas. The early eighties was a time when Mouzon
toyed with disco and channelled funk. His musical amalgam was a far cry from
the Saturday Night Fever brand – he brought more funk, more soul, more
spontaneous creativity into the mix.
For 'By All Means', Mouzon brought together musicians who were masters in
virtually any musical style. The rhythm section belonged to the who's who of the
LA studio scene. Electric bassist Scott Edwards had worked with such stars as
Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson & Aretha Franklin. 21- year- old guitarist Paul
Jackson Jr. was just beginning his stellar career, had recorded with Aretha
Franklin and within a few years he would participate in Michael Jackson's Thriller
and Bad and would go on to work with the likes of Elton John, George Duke, Al
Jarreau, and Marcus Miller. Lee Ritenour began playing and recording with
Mouzon in 1974. At the age of 17, Ritenour first worked with Tony Bennett. He
was also brought in to put a little more rock in the rock 'n roll of a couple of takes
on Pink Floyd's seminal "The Wall". Over the years he has recorded with many of
the giants of pop, rock, and jazz, and his own recordings have had a slew of
Grammy nominations.
Herbie Hancock stands beside Mouzon as the other major presence on the
recording. Like Mouzon, at the beginning of the eighties he delved into disco,
adding danceable grooves to the mix. During this period Mouzon was Herbie's
drummer on four of Hancock's albums, so it seems appropriate that these two
like- minded musicians came together for this recording. The Seawind Horns
provide the last needed ingredient in this tasty musical concoction. Guesting on
the title track, trumpet great Freddie Hubbard's contributes a flashy solo.
By All Means, get out on your private dance floor and get up with it.

Vinyl Only

Marshall Applewhite has returned from the red planet with a new discovery in tow, his Lowercase EP! As a musical pioneer he needs little introduction but a few lauds include: the creation of an entire genre of electronic music, starting legendary label YoSucka! featuring his hit release "Go Home", now running a fantastic and creative label project called Junted sharing experimental and strange sounds. For all those in the Detroit techno community, his music has been an inspiration and his devil may care attitude is a welcome refreshment from the often overly serious and judgemental air of the industry. These tracks once again change up his style, leaning a bit more toward a house groove, but with plenty of his signature freakish basslines and trippy vocal samples to ride along. Released via PITS, a Detroit-based electronic music label run by cohort John Joe XO. The project is entering its fifth year of life this summer of 2021, so in celebration this special edition release will also be shared on 12" vinyl. The label has seen support from many artists over the years including Exos, Blazej Malinkowski, Justin Carter, Laurent Garnier, John FM, and more.

"The Beast Within" is the new album by Brazilian artist, Diego Garcia; exploring gender identities within contemporary electronic music. The artist uses two of their distinguished artistic identities: The Princess of Death, her feminine identity - where there is an exploration of a more introspective and corrosive textures commonly associated with patriarchal values; and Projekt Gestalten, his masculine identity - where melodic and hypnotic sounds, often associated with matriarchy, are emphasized.

In this project, Diego's aim is to dichotomize their gender identities inspired by a point-and-click adventure game from the 90's called "Gabriel Knight 2 - The Beast Within". The story was written by American game designer, Jane Jensen with original music composed by her husband, Robert Holmes. The protagonist is on the trail of a strange wolf, murderer of a little girl. Gabriel was asked to take care of this evil and suspects that this case is paranormal in nature. Together with his assistant, Grace Nakimura, he discovers the dark truth behind the history of Bavaria. The gameplay alternates between Gabriel and Grace and its storyline is only explored indirectly by Diego - as it is deeply connected with their childhood and formative years and still remains as one of their all-time favorite games.

Just like in the gameplay, Diego alternates between both of their feminine and masculine identities in order to create original pieces of music. As Projekt Gestalten, an array of dance tracks are functionally presented; ranging from melodic and trippy to club-ready driving techno; dissecting a more rational aspect of the game's storyline. In contrast, The Princess of Death goes into an ambient and experimental approach; exploring liturgical themes that includes a dark and dystopian cover of the traditional gospel song "When The Saints Go Marching In", a song that is featured throughout the whole franchise of the game in many different versions. In the end, the gender polarizing concept is extrapolated and both aliases are finally merged into one another; leading to the Gestalt principle, alluded to in Diego's main alias, being fully applied as a whole.

The project's ultimate goal is to challenge preconceived notions of how a specific gender should sound/behave and to explore light/dark, sacred/secular, good/evil, male/female using, as the blueprint, a gender-neutral game where the player is forced to assume a feminine and a masculine role in order to navigate through the story. All of these ideas are perfectly aligned with Diego's own trajectory as an artist and their distinct artistic identities featuring distorted gender values - which comes full circle in this project.

Flashback to 2008. Barack Obama is in charge of the US, China is hosting the Summer Olympics and Amy Winehouse's 'Back To Black' is ruling the charts. In Belgium - more specifically in Aalst - four friends of friends decide to make music together. A year or so later, Intergalactic Lovers achieves its first successes and in 2011, with 'Greetings and Salutations', the band records its first album. The press is wildly enthusiastic, the gigs are piling up, the train is rolling...

13 years and two more successful albums ('Little Heavy Burdens' (2014) and 'Exhale' (2017)) later, singer Lara Chedraoui, guitarist Maarten Huygens, bassist Raf De Mey and drummer Brendan Corbey know each other like the back of their hands as they have navigated many waters together, both professionally and privately. The unbreakable foursome is ready to start the next chapter in the career of Intergalactic Lovers. "We kept a low profile the last two years" Brendan admits, "but we always have to disappear for a while after a tour. From the stage and from each other. Otherwise, you couldn't keep doing this for 13 years alongside a job, a family..."

But like a sunbeam peering through a haze of wildfire smoke, Early Eyes have
somehow persevered through dashed dreams, fractured relationships, historic
social justice uprisings in their own hometown, and a society tearing apart at the
seams to make an album that is both responsive to the chaos and wearily
optimistic."It almost feels like Look Alive! is a direct response to the pandemic,"
bandleader Jake Berglove reflects. "It was like, oh, my goodness, all of our
capitalist anxieties just came true! We took all of that anxiety and angry energy
and put it into making a really f***ed up album." Look Alive! vibrates with angst,
punctuated by computerized glitches and disintegrating threads of abandoned
melodies that echo in the distance before roaring back to life. With the assistance
of producers Caleb Hinz and Jake Luppen (of the band Hippo Campus), Early
Eyes felt more liberated stylistically, and Look Alive! looks ahead to a post-genre
future where emo, post- hardcore, Japanese city pop, and musical theater can
coexist peacefully on one album. "We ran with so many different influences," John
says. "I mean, like, half the songs on the album just sound like a completely
different band. We were just more unafraid to commit — like, alright, we're just
going to make a punk song right now."

Matrimony emerged from the scrum of yobbos making noise in late-'80s
Australia (Cosmic Psychos, Lubricated Goat, etc), a nearly all-female
band of punk-pop minimalists as raw emotionally as musically
Building songs around simple, repetitive bass lines and the languidly morose
vocals of one Sybilla, the band reveals its disaffection more through what it
doesn't say than what it does. So while choppy guitar squalls underpin songs like
'Kitty Finger' and 'Fish and Chips Sweetheart,' elsewhere the playing is stripped
nearly bare. Sybilla's love/ hate relationship with her titular subject on 'Mr. Pop
Star' is reduced to a series of stuttered yelps, while her dispassionate plea on
'Come Back Baby' is backed only by finger snaps and the ubiquitous heavy bass
lines, distilling a lifetime of self-pitying angst into a two-minute session in front of
a cracked bedroom mirror. Matrimony also pays a nominal tribute by covering the
Scientists' 'Frantic Romantic' even more dourly than the original.

With her very own musical language, pianist Julia Kadel has become a
regular talking point in jazz circles, releasing her first two records on Blue
Note/Universal she and her trio were nominated in 2015 for the
prestigious German Music Award Echo Jazz as "Newcomer of the year"
and Julia Kadel as "Female instrumentalist of the year"
Julia Kadel's variable competitions, her imaginative playing and the band's
striking improvisations became more courageous over time. On 'Kaskaden' they
have now reached a new dimension of detail and intensity. More determined than
ever, the trio balances the fine line between harmony and atonality, intuition and
reflection, poetry and austerity.The live qualities of the trio, which was founded in
2011, its subtle interaction and intuitive understanding encouraged the trio to
produce the new album under live conditions - especially as it took place in the
legendary MPS studio in Villingen (Black Forest, Germany). Its history dates back
to 1958, great jazz pianists such as Oscar Peterson, George Shearing, Monty
Alexander and Bill Evans once recorded here. With the Bösendorfer Grand
Imperial grand piano - once acquired for Friedrich Gulda - in the center
surrounded by classic analogue technology, Kaskaden was captured to tape oneto- one. This influenced not only the charismatic sound but also the special
atmosphere that characterises the album.
Furthermore, the location of the recording not only came as a surprise but
probably also as a small sensation to every fan of MPS as the Julia Kadel Trio is
the first MPS act after over 35 years recording again in the historic studios; the
popular German magazine Der Spiegel reported about it.

Ghédalia Tazartès left us in February 2021 when we had just finalized the editing and the cover art of his new album with him. Unfortunately he will never see the finished object. This record is therefore particularly important for us. He opened his archives to us so that we could select unpublished pieces with him and organize them in two long suites (indexes have been made on the CD for a more convenient listening) . This work took almost two years (finding the pieces among dozens of sometimes very old CD-Rs, checking that these pieces had not already been published, processing the sound to obtain an aesthetic unity and a coherent order, etc). This record is therefore a melting pot of unreleased tracks which cover a large part of his career. You can hear a few guests perform on some of the tracks (mostly vocals parts). As for the lyrics, apart from Ghédalia's own personal poetry, he wrote music for two texts by different poets, that he performs himself in a more or less comical way or on the contrary very intense (the final on a text by Antonin Artaud)!

During an art exhibition in 2018, Ghédalia really loved a series of photographs by Isabelle Magnon and immediately asked to use them for the cover of a future album. It is therefore these three photos (two for the LP version) which illustrate Ghédalia Tazartès' final album.

Matthew Halsall unveils new band and announces 'Salute to the Sun'

his new album on Gondwana Records

Limited edition Double Clear vinyl, printed on reverse board with Gold foil artwork plus double printed reverse board inner sleeves including download code. Cover Artwork by Daniel Halsall with design and layout by Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic.

Comes packaged in a resealable, re-usable Polypropylene anti-static, acid-free, crystal clear sleeve for maximum protection.

Composer, trumpeter, producer, DJ and founder of Gondwana Records, Matthew Halsall has always worn many hats. But at the heart of everything that he does Halsall is first and foremost an artist and a musician. A trumpeter whose unflashy, soulful playing radiates a thoughtful beauty and a composer and band-leader who has created his own rich sound world. A sound that draws on the heritage of British jazz, the spiritual jazz of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, as well as world music and electronica influences, and even modern art and architecture, to create something uniquely his own. A music that is rooted in Northern England but draws on global inspirations.

Salute to the Sun is his first album as a leader since Into Forever (2015) and marks the debut of his new band. A hand-picked ensemble featuring some of Manchester's finest young musicians: Matt Cliffe flute & saxophone, Maddie Herbert harp, Liviu Gheorghe piano, Alan Taylor drums and Jack McCarthy percussion as well as long-time Halsall collaborator, bassist, Gavin Barras who has been at the heart of Halsall's bands for over a decade. For Matthew it was important to have a band based locally and able, pre-Covid, to meet and play each week, and who also performed a sold-out monthly basement session at Yes in Manchester. The album draws energy from these sessions and inspiration from themes and ideas that have inspired Halsall through the years (on albums such as Oneness, Fletcher Moss Park and When the World Was One) ideas of ecology, the environment and harmony with nature.

"I feel Salute to the Sun is a positive earthy album. I wanted to create something playful but also quite primitive, earthy and organic that connected to the sounds in nature. I was listening to lush ambient field recordings of tropical environments such as jungles and rainforests and found myself drawn to percussive atmospheric sounds which replicated what I was hearing (bells / shakers / chimes / rain sticks) and I started to experiment with more wooden percussive instruments such as kalimba and marimba".

Salute to the Sun features lush wholly improvised tunes inspired by ambient rainforest and jungle field recordings, deeply soulful tunes built around hypnotic harp and kalimba patterns, deep Strata-East inspired spiritual jazz grooves and some of Halsall's most beautiful playing and inspiring healing melodies yet recorded.

The album was recorded at the band's weekly sessions, using Halsall's own recording set-up, giving the recordings a relaxed vibe and unforced energy that really lets the music breath. The album is also very much a family affair as Halsall's brother Daniel Halsall, artistic director of Gondwana Records, was an important presence at the sessions and co-produced the album. It is also his memorable artwork that adorns the cover of Salute to the Sun, an album beautifully designed by legendary designer Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic, who also created the covers for the recent archival releases Oneness, Sending My Love and Colour Yes and is one of Halsall's favourite designers. Together Daniel Halsall and Ian Anderson have designed all of Matthew's seven albums to date, so it felt extra-special to bring them together for, Salute to the Sun, an album that Halsall was determined to present in the very best way possible. The album was mixed with another long-time collaborator, George Atkins at 80 Hertz in Manchester, who works tirelessly with Halsall to perfect the sound and was mastered by noted engineer Peter Beckmann who brings an added depth to the sound specially around the bass notes as well as Halsall's trumpet. The magnificent double vinyl was cut as a Half Speed master by Barry Grint at Alchemy Mastering for the best possible analogue experience.

The result is arguably Halsall's most beautiful and complete recording to date, playful, charming and imbued with the warmth of the sun and the energy of life.

The Decades Collected compilations are part of the new Collected compilation series, which is a collaboration between Universal Music and Music On Vinyl. The compilations bring together the biggest names of each decade, combined with forgotten hits and less discovered gems, giving the listener an experience of listening to their favorite tunes while uncovering new musical grounds at the same time.

Various Artists - Nineties Collected features R.E.M “Man On The Moon”, Freddie Mercury “Living On My Own”, Texas “Say What You Want”, Lenny Kravitz “Always On The Run”, Erykah Badu “Tyrone (Live)” and Blind Melon “No Rain” amongst others.

Now on album number seven , Metronomy has continued where many of their 2000s ‘cool’ band peers have dropped off along the way. Small World is a return to simple pleasures, nature, an embracing in part of more pared down, songwriterly sonics (some moments wouldn’t sound amiss on a Wilco release), all while asking broader existential questions: which feels at least somewhat rooted in the period of time during which it was made – 2020. For all that Mount seems to think he has made a comparatively sombre record, much of Small World still pulses with the zesty, tongue-in-cheek joie de vivre you’d expect of a Metronomy record.
So sure, things are different now Joe Mount is getting older and what’s on his mind is changing, but that doesn’t mark a change in quality for Metronomy. An immaculate set of tracks, Joe Mount’s ability as a songwriter and arranger shines through on Small World, evergreen. Metronomy might be growing up, but they’re not afraid to still have fun with it all. Through the tumultuous ebb and flow of the years, Metronomy continues to endure and make great pop music – and, really, that’s all that we could ask for.

One-year-and-a-half after landing on earth with its first eponymous EP, The Outsider Syndrome is back from its exploration of the vast Techno universe with more musical UFO’s.

Through “Social Engineering”, the Lyon-based duo – composed of E-care and Don Jo –, is about to deliver another dose of rock-influenced electronics, delving its dark-energy into a not-so-sci-fi-anymore dystopian future made of totalitarianism, supranational control.

Four raging tracks of analog techno and electro, with a huge space given to narration and improvisation, as a fight against boring, repetitive standards.

To be published once again on Beyond Techno Musical UFO’s on limited-edition vinyl.

Laced Records and Capcom’s scenarios intertwine once more as we present the music of 2019’s Resident Evil 2 on vinyl.

Following a series refresh with Resident Evil 7, the impressive RE Engine was used to power this third-person reworking of a survival horror classic. The thick atmosphere, tight redesign of locations (including the iconic Racoon Police Department), and expanded role of a certain fedora-wearing hunter combined to make Resident Evil 2 an award-winning hit with a 91 Metacritic average.

The soundtrack played a huge part in establishing the taut atmosphere of Resident Evil 2, as the composers shifted gears between dark ambient electronic music, thumping cinematic percussion, and audacious orchestral and choral passages. Capcom veteran Shusaku Uchiyama — who worked on the 1998 original — was given lead composition duties, and also arranged several of Masami

Ueda’s original pieces. They were joined among the soundtrack credits by Zhenlan Kang, Tadayoshi Makino, Sound Director & Sound Team Leader Kentaro Nakashima, Yuichi Tsuchiya, Masahiro Ohki and Mana Ogura. Syotaro Nakayama and Taisuke Fujisawa supplied the power metal with “Tofu On Fire”; while the vinyl opens with the stomping ‘true ending’ credits theme "Saudade" by Cody Matthew Johnson and Shim.

46 tracks have been specially mastered for vinyl by Joe Caithness, and tracks will be pressed onto audiophile-quality, heavyweight 180g discs.

Cemento Atlantico is the first recording project by the Italian DJ/producer Alessandro “ToffoloMuzik” Zoffoli, conceived between 2020 and 2021, in an orphaned silence from wandering and social sharing due to the lockdown in this Pandemic era. To be released on vinyl, CD and all digital platforms starting from July 29th, 2021 via Bronson Recordings, the album Rotte Interrotte was born from the need to translate the travel experiences of recent years into music: Morocco, Vietnam, Peru, Cambodia, Colombia, India, Guatemala, Myanmar. At the edge of the world. The sound that fills everyday life is often seen as a foregone background, in reality all its connotations can be explored and ordered to create a melody. Without a shadow of a doubt, the threshold of auditory attention rises by being sent, immersed in cultures and countries other than your own. Among those coordinates, Cemento Atlantico has kidnapped fragments, samples and field recordings from nature, history, road and sacred places. Emotions engraved in the mind with occasional recording means, subsequently manipulated through electronics and rhythmic construction creating a truly unique and contemporary sound and of cultural melting-pot. Zoffoli has written and produced the record (then mastered by Giovanni Versari), also taking care of its artwork. Cemento Atlantico’s logo is made up of the initials “C” and “A”: “The letter ‘A’ indicates the first Ocean I crossed, the Atlantic one, while the letter” C “- represented by a crescent Moon, with no political or religious reference – symbolizes rebirth, the growth of a project or the advent of a new life in many ancient and modern cultures“. Trip hop, dubstep and chillout are intertwined with world music and ethnic elements, as if the starting point was Bristol, rather than Cesenatico, and the arrival point was all to be soundtracked, all to be explored. Following the first extract Umm Bulgares, the new singles taken from the album are Beat ’em Bang, Amazonienne, Blade Runner Zero and El congreso de los Fantasmas. More than an album, Rotte Interrotte is a casket of stories set in time with your eyes closed, in the deep belief that through sound you can imagine the world without seeing it.

FFO: Arthur Russell, Stealing Sheep, Neu!, Agar Agar, Galaxians
Holodrum are a new disco-infused synth-pop group, who feature members of Hookworms, Yard Act, Cowtown, Virginia Wing, Drahla and more.

Maybe Holodrum were destined to start at this point. This might be the first time they’ve all officially worked together, but between Emily Garner (vocals), Matthew Benn (synth/bass/production), Jonathan Nash (drums), Jonathan Wilkinson (guitar), Sam Shjipstone (guitar/vocals), Christopher Duffin (sax/synth) and Steve Nuttall (percussion) they’ve shared bands, mixed each other’s records, promoted live shows and made music videos together in and around Leeds. As Holodrum, this is the 7 piece’s debut album, but the interlocking grooves and hot headiness of their repeato-rock-via-CBGBs dopamine hits have in one way or other been fermenting for years.

“When it comes to doing music most bands fall between two extremes of doing it for some goal or as an end to itself” says Shjipstone. “I think Holodrum is about the joy and complexity of living, and I just hope to god everyone gets to have a good time doing it.”

Ultimately the core of the group comes from Shjipstone and his former Hookworms bandmates Benn, Nash and Wilkinson. After their abrupt dissolution in late 2018, the four of them spent six months apart; Benn still had Xam Duo, his ongoing project with Virginia Wing and some-time James Holden & The Animal Spirits live member Duffin, Nash remains vocalist and guitarist of long-running DIY rockers Cowtown and helms his solo project Game_Program; and Shjipstone plays guitar with Yard Act. However, the four of them missed the sixth sense synergy they’d built-up playing together over a decade and soon enough demos were being swapped and new ideas were discussed.

The vision of a large live electronic ensemble formed quickly. Friends were added: Duffin and Nuttall – who was keen to resurrect the double percussion interplay that he and Nash had been exploring as part of motorik trio Nope joined first. Then animator and VIDE0 singer Garner crystallised the line-up by joining on vocals.

“Apart from Emily, all of us had actually played together before in a covers band at a New Year’s Eve party at the Brudenell Social Club a couple of years ago, so we knew we could have fun together” says Benn. “So we set up to be a live party band early on. We wanted lots of people on stage having fun, playing for people that also wanted to have fun. It makes sense we take inspiration from bands like Tom Tom Club and Liquid Liquid; they were trying to help people to party at a point when New York was quite a scary and dangerous place we’re doing the same, albeit in the face of a decaying world and a global pandemic.”

Covid-19 hasn’t given them much opportunity to do that yet, with two fledgling shows in late 2019 to their name before festival appearances at the likes of Bluedot, Sounds From The Other City and Gold Sounds were scuppered last year. However, the 6 tracks on Holodrum crackle with the energy of the dancefloor. Opening cut 'Lemon Chic' described by Garner as her “workout track” starts out sparsely, with tight drum claps and burbling synths holding a teetering suspense before the whole thing’s prised open, allowing beaming saxophone skronk to shine in. Garner’s vocals bob and weave around the syncopations of the track’s building cacophony.

It sets the stall for an album heavy on euphoria, built atop crisp interplaying percussion and acid-flecked grooves. At times Shjipstone provides a raw counterpoint on vocals, while elsewhere - like on the strutting, swirling disco of 'Free Advice' and 'Low Light'’s late night ping pong synths - the pair indulge in playful call and response as the instrumentation builds and contorts around them. 'Stage Echo' provides a respite of sorts halfway through, a swirling, fever dream of a track that peaks with big squelchy frequencies and cavernous reverb, before the album returns to its repetitious exercises in body-moving catharsis underpinned at all times by a relentlessly propulsive rhythm section.

As the tides change and the majesty of the moon once more begins to illuminate our forgotten domain, the hotly-tipped Incus has made the jump to hyperspace and determined that now is the time to unleash his neoteric creation into the macrocosm of music. At the behest of the sonic social masters, "INC.AUDIO" will be deemed a passion project, but in reality it will rip the very fabric of what it means to have a personal creative outlet, curtailing boundaries and expectations alike. Based on the creed of freedom of experimentation, the label will allow Incus and close friends within the industry to share their creative expressions within a familial and contemporary framework free from third-party limitation.

For now we start at the first chapter of the INC.AUDIO narrative, and the inaugural release which comes from the architect himself. His first solo EP contains 4 tracks conceived at home during lockdown, combining new sound design techniques developed through the mediums of trusty Korg Hardware and Ableton live. The end product is a consummate representation of the benefits of free time, reckless abandon and zero red tape.

Kicking off with "Design Your Mind", Incus draws on his longstanding influences collected via years of crate-digging and supporting underground idols in the UK and Ibiza. Shuffling percussion, jittering stabs and percolatin' chords wax and wane, submitting us to the will of its deep, minimal groove with a sultry sensibility. Next is "New Dog Old Tricks", the one with "that" bassline. No holding back from the get-go, the punching percussion is waylaid sporadically by erratic tones and steadied by placid, ambient chords. The charming breakdowns are peculiarized by a haunting saxophone sample, firmly establishing the clear-cut level of advancement and attention to detail achieved by the creator.

"Calm in the Chaos" steps back from straight-up grooving, inviting an equatorial temperature to come and play. Tantalising acid-inclined bass notes perforate the horizon, aiding the insistent percussion and creating a sunny, party-ready disposition infectious as they come. Feel like you're on a beach or in a rainforest? Snap. After the party we finish in the "Morning Haze". Alien-like frequencies and UFO bleepology steer the good ship Incus on this extra-terrestrial journey through the tech-house heavens to its final resting point. The seductive vocal cut adds a beautiful edge to the track, creating a minimal yet also expansive soundscape perfect for disembarkment. So, now you see what INC.AUDIO is all about, why wouldn't you stick around? Fight the bureaucracy and become who you need to be today, not tomorrow.

Annie Booth is an Edinburgh-based artist with a gift for mood-painting
and storytelling - A seasoned modern folk singer, performer and
songwriter - with a fair for the nostalgic and the melancholy - she wields
a unique voice in Scotland, bridging genre and infuence with ease, her
restless live performance and songs never cease to capture the listener
with their haunting melodies and infectious arrangements
Recorded over several months at Chem19 Studios and Green Door Booth's debut
album An Unforgiving Light (Last Night From Glasgow/ Scottish Fiction) was
released in 2017 to critical acclaim. It was lauded as Roddy Hart's Record of Note
(BBC Radio Scotland), featured in Vic Galloway's Best Albums of 2017 (BBC
Radio Scotland) and was praised by Jim Gellatly (Amazing Radio). 2018 saw her
perform at the BBC's Quay Sessions and festivals such as XpoNorth, Celtic
Connections and the Kelburn Garden Party.
Adopting a more introspective and atmospheric approach, Booth's 2019 EP
Spectral (Last Night From Glasgow/ Scottish Fiction) displays her poignant
lyricism and haunting vocals at their most raw. The EP was championed by BBC
Radio Scotland, The Skinny and The List, with Booth appearing for a live session
on the BBC's Janice Forsyth Show. Booth was subsequently nominated for a
Scottish Alternative Music Award in the Best Acoustic category late 2019.
The singer-songwriter is also known for her enthusiasm for collaboration. From
2015 to 2020 she performed backing vocals and guitar with prolifc dark- folk
collective Mt. Doubt, touring across Scotland, England and Wales and recording
on numerous records. 2020 saw the release of Clean Living (Last Night From
Glasgow) under the moniker Slow Weather: a vintage-infused EP of alt-rock cowritten with producer extraordinaire Chris McCrory. The release garnered praise
and spins from Steve Lamacq (BBC Radio 6), BBC Radio Scotland and Amazing
Radio as well as features and airplay in the US. Over the years Booth has also
collaborated on tracks with artists such indietronica outft Out of the Swim and
indie pop quintet Wojtek the Bear.

Annie Booth is an Edinburgh-based artist with a gift for mood-painting
and storytelling - A seasoned modern folk singer, performer and
songwriter - with a fair for the nostalgic and the melancholy - she wields
a unique voice in Scotland, bridging genre and infuence with ease, her
restless live performance and songs never cease to capture the listener
with their haunting melodies and infectious arrangements
Recorded over several months at Chem19 Studios and Green Door Booth's debut
album An Unforgiving Light (Last Night From Glasgow/ Scottish Fiction) was
released in 2017 to critical acclaim. It was lauded as Roddy Hart's Record of Note
(BBC Radio Scotland), featured in Vic Galloway's Best Albums of 2017 (BBC
Radio Scotland) and was praised by Jim Gellatly (Amazing Radio). 2018 saw her
perform at the BBC's Quay Sessions and festivals such as XpoNorth, Celtic
Connections and the Kelburn Garden Party.
Adopting a more introspective and atmospheric approach, Booth's 2019 EP
Spectral (Last Night From Glasgow/ Scottish Fiction) displays her poignant
lyricism and haunting vocals at their most raw. The EP was championed by BBC
Radio Scotland, The Skinny and The List, with Booth appearing for a live session
on the BBC's Janice Forsyth Show. Booth was subsequently nominated for a
Scottish Alternative Music Award in the Best Acoustic category late 2019.
The singer-songwriter is also known for her enthusiasm for collaboration. From
2015 to 2020 she performed backing vocals and guitar with prolifc dark- folk
collective Mt. Doubt, touring across Scotland, England and Wales and recording
on numerous records. 2020 saw the release of Clean Living (Last Night From
Glasgow) under the moniker Slow Weather: a vintage-infused EP of alt-rock cowritten with producer extraordinaire Chris McCrory. The release garnered praise
and spins from Steve Lamacq (BBC Radio 6), BBC Radio Scotland and Amazing
Radio as well as features and airplay in the US. Over the years Booth has also
collaborated on tracks with artists such indietronica outft Out of the Swim and
indie pop quintet Wojtek the Bear.

4 Hands, an intimate and surreal musical conversation on the piano from German sound pioneer Hans-Joachim Roedelius and American composer Tim Story, is an example of all the warm yet otherworldly beauty that can come from approaching a shared love for a singular instrument from overlapping directions.

Recorded sequentially but on one and the same grand piano, Roedelius laid down a few impromptu piano études in May 2019 whilst visiting his transatlantic friend Story. Tim then learned all their intricate phrasings to add his own parts in the following months.

"Together we shaped the basic compositions, sometimes carefully preparing the piano with various materials (including my own hands), and Achim’s performances were committed to tape. I continued to compose and refine my parts in the following months. Because it was all recorded on the same piano, the result has a very appealing consistency of sound, and hopefully blurs our individual contributions into a single integrated voice,” Story explains.

4 Hands encapsulates rippling minimalistic patterns and delicate, ghostly interactions with surprising harmonic twists. Roedelius’ intuitive and instinctive approach based in improvisation, paired hand in hand with Story’s deliberate distilling of ideas over time, creates two sides of an engaging and thought provoking conversation that seems to evolve and deepen with each successive listen.

"4 Hands is not just a new album — the logical continuation of the long-standing friendship between two composers. It’s our tribute to awareness and listening, coaxing a new sound language from the endless possibilities of a single piano played by our four hands. For me, these pieces express a different kind of beauty, they evoke more than the sum of their parts, they are a wordless dialogue, a bridge across the great water that separates our cultures from one another. Allons enfants des deux patrie, haha!” adds Roedelius.

The pair continue to explore their love of Italian film soundtracks and library music with these two fresh offerings. The title track "Acqua" is a joyful upbeat song with a steady 6/8 groove accompanied by optimistic flutes, winding saxophones and a multitude of arpeggiated synthesizers.

The B side, "Tema Cinque", is more like an electro ballad with a hypnotic drum machine that provides the back drop to luscious sweeping pads and a moody soprano saxophone solo. These two tracks give listeners another taste of what's to come from Lorenzo
Morresi and Tenderlonious' forthcoming album, which is due for release on 22a later in 2022.

This is a four track E.P by little known alias of The Future Sound Of London. These tracks were originally released in 1991 and more recently have become in demand again, driving up the price of rare copies remaining in the second hand market. The early 90s was a time of musical innovation and experimentation within the electronica genre, and these guys lead the way. Issued in original artwork.

London based duo Blue Lab Beats announce their new and most ambitious album to date : “Motherland Journey”. The two producers and musicians assemble an all-star lineup ranging from Afrobeat star Ghetto Boy to rising stars such as Tiana Major9, Pip Millet, Ego Ella May, Kofi Stone and much more. They broaden their inspirations from their trademark Jazztronica and masterfully blend afrobeat, New R’n’B and Soul.

‘Flashmob’ is the second studio album by French electronic music
artist Vitalic. 2022 sees a reissue of this seminal record on white
vinyl. While the electro foundations of his sound remain the same
after more than a decade, these tracks are sleek and innovative -
proving that Vitalic spent the years between his debut, ‘OK
Cowboy’, and this album uniting everything he’d learned from
making electrifying dance tracks since 2005. ‘Flashmob’ provides
cuts that are classic Vitalic, with massive synth lines and hardedged beats.

A few years back I had this dream: I was walking through vast grasslands
towards a solitary hill
On top of the hill was a movie house. On the marquee: History of Jazz.I kept
thinking about it. What was in the movie house? What happened before? What
followed? Why was I going there? Why "History of Jazz"? To reach some kind of
insight, I began a film script, extending the dream tenfold. The script morphed
into a novella-sized book, a series of songs, and finally, a "mind-movie" podcast,
forming this labyrinthine, multi- medium story – equal parts dream, film and
waking life. Figuring out how to transcend the traditional parameters of the album
to create a more panoramic story- vision is something I've been unconsciously
trying to do for some time. I've been pushing against the edges – toying with
narrative, characters and visuals with Easterween and Niagara, a weird children's
book Daydreams for Night – but the scope of life behind Rialto felt too
irrepressible and expansive to be boxed in an album. The book and podcast have
kicked open the doors – allowing the album to lead or serve where it should.In
Rialto's extended narrative, Klaus (loner, insomniac) is working a stint as a driver
for a small town writer's festival. Following a series of unsettling paranormal
events, he finds himself agreeing to a strange request - to deliver a film reel in
time for its premiere at a secluded movie house - the Rialto. The journey leads
him through a circuit of strangely located, oracular movie houses, screening a mix
of dreams, fantasies, memories and prophecies - numinous films of personal
revelation. Inhabiting the movie houses are underworld characters and spirits
with ambiguous motivations, some helping and some hindering Klaus's quest. It's
a Dantesque, deep cleanse pilgrimage to untangle bitterness and trauma,
rediscover a lost clairvoyance, ancestry, and ultimately, the medicinal source of
eternal youth. A metaphysical noir. A hyperstition.Rialto's album stars seven
singer-artists playing characters alongside mine: Tamara Lindeman (The Weather
Station), Daniel Knox, Thom Gill (Owen Pallet, Beverly Glenn- Copeland), Ryan
Driver (Jennifer Castle), Felicity Williams (Bahamas), Robin Dann (Bernice) and
Martin Tielli (Rheostatics). All Toronto- based like me except Daniel (Chicago).
Performed by the Venuti String Quartet with arrangements by Andrew Downing.
Produced by Jean Martin (Tanya Tagaq). It's my 13th album and fourth on Tin
Angel - previous releases on Tin Angel: Miracle In The Night (2019), Small Town
Water Tower (2016), and Niagara (2014). Each of Rialto's eight podcast episodes
features a chapter from the book performed by a cast of twenty five - made up
almost entirely of musicians – including the speaking voices of the
aforementioned singers, as well as Meg Remy (U.S. Girls), Claudia Dey, Veda Hille,
Devon Sproule, Luka Kuplowsky and others. Rialto is available as a 101-page eBook (illustrations by David Ouimet) on Sud de Valeur Press. Premiere
performances begin fourth quarter 2021. Happy Rialto listening, reading,
watching, dreaming...

Dashboard Confessional's ninth studio album, All The Truth That I Can
Tell, is both a remarkable renewal and fortunate step forward for the
band's songwriter, front man, and founder, Chris Carrabba
All The Truth That I Can Tell stands among Carrabba's finest – a strikingly potent
musical look at himself through a rediscovered keyhole, both an achievement of
vision and a vital burst of artistic clarity; less like reading someone's diary and
more like reading their eyes.

Dashboard Confessional's ninth studio album, All The Truth That I Can
Tell, is both a remarkable renewal and fortunate step forward for the
band's songwriter, front man, and founder, Chris Carrabba
All The Truth That I Can Tell stands among Carrabba's finest – a strikingly potent
musical look at himself through a rediscovered keyhole, both an achievement of
vision and a vital burst of artistic clarity; less like reading someone's diary and
more like reading their eyes.

Reissue of The Rolf Kühn Orchestra's gently-grooving 1979 album
'Symphonic Swampfire', featuring Joachim Kühn, Philip Catherine, NielsHenning Ørsted Pedersen, Charlie Mariano, Herb Geller and others
For a German jazz musician to find international recognition as a major player
has been and remains a rarity. Clarinetist Rolf Kühn belongs to this elite class. No
one sounds like him on the clarinet; warm, round and masterful, his tone remains
unmistakable no matter what style he may be playing at any given moment. His
play resonates with a maturity and wisdom gathered from a long and rich life of
musical experiences.
Inspired by the captivating and breathtaking landscape of Ibiza, which Rolf Kühn
discovered for the first time in 1970, the album 'Symphonic Swampfire' was
created in 1978. Rolf Kühn had spent many summers in Ibiza, his brother
Joachim is now living there since several years. After Kühn had written orchestral
compositions for commissioned works for film, TV and radio productions, he was
able to fulfill his long- standing wish to record one of his jazz albums with an
orchestra. 'Symphonic Swampfire' is the first collaboration with sound engineer
Walter Quintus, with whom Rolf and Joachim Kühn should collaborate many more
times.

Reissue of Rolf Kühn's funky 1980 LP 'Cucu Ear', beside his brother
Joachim Kühn, who as always took the place at the keys, Rolf brought
together an illustrious group of musicians from a variety of backgrounds
for this record, including Alphonse Mouzon, Philip Catherine, Charlie
Mariano, Herb Geller and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
For a German jazz musician to find international recognition as a major player
has been and remains a rarity. Clarinettist Rolf Kühn belongs to this elite class.
No one sounds like him on the clarinet; warm, round and masterful, his tone
remains unmistakable no matter what style he may be playing at any given
moment. His play resonates with a maturity and wisdom gathered from a long
and rich life of musical experiences.
"I have always had the desire to find unusual set-ups for my productions – like
working with musicians who come from very different genres such as classical
music, jazz fusion, pop, etc. But these trains of thought, which of course can be
very tempting, can never be implemented without a risk. In the case of "Cucu Ear"
for example Alphonse Mouzon and Niels- Henning Ørsted Pedersen played
together for the first time ever. With Niels and Alphonse, coming from such
different stylistic directions, the plan worked out so perfectly that they are among
my favorite rhythm groups today. Not least because of my brother Joachim, who
plays fantastic additional synthesizer solos in addition to his great piano playing.
These were two wonderful days in the studio and an unusual and extraordinary
session that is still today very special for me." - Rolf Kühn, 2019

Reissue of George Duke's classic 1975 jazz-funk-fusion album 'The Aura
Will Prevail'
With its intensive quartet, this 1975 recording again mirrors how far Duke, by his
own admission, had moved away from the "smug and overly serious jazz
musician" and towards a master of fusion, eager to experiment and add a note of
humour to the music. With Santana drummer Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, bassist
Alphonso "Slim" Johnson, and the Brazilian percussion magician Airto Moriera,
Duke designed stunning scenarios in sound which once more reveals him to be
one of the synthesizer pioneers.
He paints a fantastic morning atmosphere in Dawn; in Floop the Loop Duke
conjures animated, funky tone poems. There is a change of scene as Duke takes
up the role of soulful singer on the smooth ballads For Love and Fools. His
onetime collaboration with the Mothers of Invention rubs off on Duke's
adaptations of Echnidna's Arf and Uncle Remus, and a touch of samba is added
to the relaxed tropical magic of Malibu.

Dashboard Confessional's ninth studio album, All The Truth That I Can
Tell, is both a remarkable renewal and fortunate step forward for the
band's songwriter, front man, and founder, Chris Carrabba
All The Truth That I Can Tell stands among Carrabba's finest – a strikingly potent musical look at himself through a rediscovered keyhole, both an achievement of vision and a vital burst of artistic clarity; less like reading someone's diary and more like reading their eyes.

Red hot Modern Soul 45 recorded in Memphis, Tennessee in 1985. Big thanks to Robert Garcia @mrbighappy & Daniel Mathis @quartzwatches for the research and words on this one!!

Brotherhood Band was started by Ernest Coleman(EC) and Clint Hyson, who met thorough a US Navy band called "Mid-South", which was the US Navy's premier musical organization operating out of Millington, Tennessee (20 min outside of Memphis). The group initially played as an instrumental jazz band. In keeping up with the times, they shifted gears towards a more contemporary sound. Shortly after, they decided to cut a single. Enter "Nicci's Theme", which is the B-side here and it's a beautiful jazz tune EC wrote for a girl he fell in love with. This song was supposed to be his door way in, but he actually never opened the door with her.

A few weeks later Clint called EC and played this syncopated bass line for him over the phone. And then EC being the ladies man that he was wrote the lyrics to "Leather Pants" to it. Part of the lyrics read "The pants they stretch, but they don't bust. Enough to make a blind man cuss", but it originally read as, "The pants they stretch, but they don't bust. Enough to make a PREACHER cuss". The song was ready, but they needed to find a singer. That's when member Richard Owens mentioned that he had a young cat back in Atlanta named Taji. In a gamble Taji drove up to Memphis for the Sunrise recording studio session to record the track. According to EC when Taji laid the vocals down he took the song to the next level. In fact it was so impactful that EC, who is now a Grammy producer, still references Taji's sessions when working with new artist.

After the single dropped the group played at Memphis hot spots, Bills Twilight Lounge and Club No Name. EC even had an idea to host a local leather pants contest as a way to promote the song. This lead to a frenzy of women seeking to be "Miss Leather Pants".

Together, sisters Noa, Naomi and Nataja form the band Velvet Volume. Things have moved quickly for the trio since their first concert in 2013. They have already released two albums, played at a myriad of festivals such as Northside, Tinderbox, Smukfest, Reeperbahn, Eurosonic, JA JA JA, Musik i Lejet, Rolling Stone weekender and Alive Festival. They have also performed at both The Crown Prince Couple's Awards, Gaffa Award and several times at P6 Beat Rocker. Velvet Volume has always been the guarantor of a fantastic live experience, where the audience gets to feel the sibling-energy, with all its synergy, love, and temperament - they are sisters with the same origin, but they are also three women, three individuals, and three personalities, unfolding the second they enter the stage. With new music on the way, they continue the study of their own musicality, which stands as an independent and unique sound in the Danish music landscape. What started as three girls playing rock music has now evolved into three young women who are so much more than that and who challenge the genre melodically and musically. Deep engagement to their different instruments – Bas, Guitar and Drums taking their playing to new heights and also now dareing to thing and work with more melody and listener friendly productions. Their third album “nest”will be released in Feb. 2022.

The first and truly stunning release on the new Deeptrax sub-label Chasing Sunsets is one that is hard to describe...

As an (electronic) multi-instrumentalist, ES has been making music on a daily base for more than 25 years but has not released anything meaningful to this day. When we asked for some demos, we were literally bombarded with hundreds of well-produced songs in a wide variety of styles.

ES is a very creative artist who, in addition to making (video) art, creates his own world with his music. He is a musician with a completely unique sound that sometimes evokes a strong association with other music or artists. It sounds familiar and is pleasant to listen to because all the sounds seem to fall into place perfectly. But at the same time, it's totally fresh and sounds like nothing else.

“I just want to make music and not worry about the hassle; you just have to do it for me...” was the answer to the question if we could talk about releasing some music on one of our labels. "Just pick the songs you like, releasing my music on vinyl would be great ..."

So that's what we did...

This first EP gives a nice overview of some of the many musical sides of ES. It's jazzy, funky, dubby and trippy electronica with bits of ambient, house, breakbeat, acid and many other weird ES sound mix-ups. The tracks are as they are, all recorded in one take/version. Unique songs with sharply programmed rhythm and bass complemented by brilliantly played guitar, piano and synth parts. It's a surprising debut from an artist who only shows a small part of his personality with this release.

Welcome to the world of ES....

This crazy project brings good vibes... Many generations and loads of smiles ! These 12 tunes have been patiently put aside with musicians who patiently wait for this project to come out. I must thanks them... And to thanks them in addition to the LP comes an insert with a crazy comics by ExpExp and.. on the other size a board game to play (maybe with your exp fenwick dragsters ^^ ) … Ah about the music : it's a full pumpin selecta, with some old school fellow of the genre like X-Tech, Crystal and Fky, some middle ages not-so—old but so-soso like Little Guy, Tournevis … or Matelk and Protokick .. or more fresh like Pandro... Through … this is a bible to me. And I'm really happy to deliver a beautiful project precise in the music, the cut, the mastering, the visual and all that.... Enjoy dancing, partying and stand up straight towards the cops !

His last LP has barely touched record store shelves and Ivan ave is back with a EP for Mutual Intentions. Mid Season finds Ivan Ave in bloom as he evokes the sounds of
spring on his latest offering. The EP title also refers to a mid-album-recording process, which Ave currently finds himself in. Mid Season gives the listener insight into a
forthcoming full length album, entitled All Season Gear.
The prolific Norwegian rapper continues to charm with a seductive baritone that blows like a cool breeze through the production’s warm accompaniment. Dusty drum
machines under glacial keys and guitars offer a platform from which Ivan waxes lyrical about everything that touches him. He has crafted a unique voice in Hip Hop echelons, finding quirky analogies in the mundane. While in the past, he could find a parable for love in a bicycle lock or existential questions in an worn out sock, he turns his
attention increasingly to social realities.
He regularly takes aim at the ridiculous aspects of our contemporary society throughout Mid Season, with lyrics that poke fun as much they ask what the fuck?
“Spotify owner 'bout to buy a whole ball team… That mean I own a corner flag or some seats at least?,” he sings on «What a Day!!!». The record is peppered with these
types of anecdotal metaphors that come together like a social media story through a bionic AI. Ivan Ave is the product of this generation and it’s only right he should reflect
that. He does it in a unique way that requires the listener to untangle these preternatural allegories.
Playing with a dichotomy of words, he doesn’t labour on a thought before he’s lazily propelled onto the next at the turn of each bar. His laissez faire approach is only
emboldened by the slow moving percussion and keys that have come to define his sound. Picking up on early nineties influences from the likes of Native Tongues or Dilla,
the music on Mid Season continues to reassess and revolutionise these archetypes. It’s in the keyboard sounds of this latest EP, that Ivan Ave and producers have found
yet another new evolution in his sound.
Synthesisers that sound like they belong to a Maynard Ferguson record rather than a Hip Hop EP make the record come alive over a chugging and forceful rhythm section. It provides an airy and playful contrast to the more serious elements on the track, and much like Ivan Ave’s lyrical prowess offers an extra layer of depth that often
eludes Hip Hop’s most successful stars. The more you listen to Ivan Ave the more you get entrenched in his work and Mid Season continues to send the artist on an
exciting trajectory.

C-L-A-S-S-I-C library breaks and beats set of heavy drums and louche funk.

One of two Be With forays into the archives of revered British library institution Conroy, we present one of our favourites on the label - the super in-demand Dramatic Tempi / Larry Robbins Background Rhythms, originally released in 1975. Rare and sought-after for many years now, this is one of those cult library LPs that rarely turns up on even the deepest dig.

As a single LP, Dramatic Tempi / Larry Robbins Background Rhythms is two distinctly different collections of music. The first side, Dramatic Tempi, is made up of four tracks each from Sammy Burdson and Klaus Weiss.

Sammy Burdson was one of the many, many aliases of the mighty Austrian composer, arranger and conductor, Gerhard Narholz. Founder of adored library label Sonoton in 1965, and a classically trained composer, his work runs from easy listening through pop, jazz and electronic, to avant-garde.

About as cult as it gets when it comes to library music legends (German or otherwise) Klaus Weiss produced essential records on German library labels Coloursound, Selected Sound and Sonoton, as well as making two essential entries in the Conroy catalogue. Having started his career at the age of 16 as a jazz drummer, the Klaus Weiss trademark electronic sound is unsurprisingly built on top of sometimes funky, sometimes frenetic, but always hard-hitting drums.

The second side is both titled and also credited to Larry Robbins Background Rhythms. We have to admit to being stumped as to who Larry was, but we don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to assume it might well be yet another incarnation of Gerhard Narholz’s.

First up from Dramatic Tempi are the phased, gargantuan hip-hop beats of Sammy Burdson’s impeccable “Pop Waves”. This is otherworldly funk on a whole new level. Hearing is believing. The magnificently titled “Cyclodrom” is up next, a beast of booming bass and wah wah guitars over frenetic funk drums. “Devils Drive” is dramatic, blaxploitation street funk with rolling, pounding drums. “Crime Ways” is an acid-squelch, slow-pace neck-snapper.

Klaus Weiss starts by askings us “Is It Hip” and we can only answer “yes it is!” to the clean, skipping drums, booming bass and proto-hip-hop bells, layered beneath laconic and melodic guitar shredding. This is just horizontal soul perfection. “The Camp”, propelled by jazzy guitar à la Joe Pass over fast drum and conga breaks, gives way to the dark guitars and cymbal crashes of “Tomorrow”. It sounds like an early New Order jam session. Closing out a pretty startling side of library greatness, “Rhythm Trip” presents early stuttering funk before easin' on in to a jazzy, soulful groove; all breezy guitar and warm keys. Lush.

Larry Robbins Background Rhythms is a lighter, poppier affair, but it’s not without its drum-heavy bangers. “Vox Pop” and “Pop Phase” each have clean, open-ish drum breaks, ripe for sampling or more daring DJ sets. “Pop Twang” is a short and sweet beat-heavy number that gives way to the fantastically out-there “Canned Pop”. We‘d love to know if this was ever actually licensed for something! The final seven tracks are a set of 1-to-2 minute “Percussion Takes”. All compelling, and all equally useful for any number of production needs. Get sampling.

The British library label with those instantly recognisable “orangey-red” sleeves, Conroy began releasing production music in 1965. A sub-label of Berry Music Co, its catalogue typified the library industry’s strange mixture of tradition and experimentation from the start. Conroy’s early releases included work by big band stalwarts like Eddie Warner as well as early electronic recordings by the likes of Belgian experimental pioneer Arséne Souffriau. With Berry Music Co working as a distribution partner to the German library label Sonoton, it was through the Conroy that a great deal of German library music found its way into the UK market.

Conroy stopped putting out new music in the 1980s, but its history and its catalogue offer an excellent window into the trends and eccentricities of a highly unique industry at the height of its international appeal.

This re-issue of Dramatic Tempi / Larry Robbins Background Rhythms has been mastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis from audio from the original tapes. Richard Robinson has handled reproducing the iconic, hypnotic original Conroy sleeve. Essential.

First Word Records is very pleased to welcome back Quiet Dawn with a brand new EP entitled 'Movements'.

Parisian multi-instrumentalist Will Galland has been with First Word since late 2014, providing several releases for us over the years, from his acclaimed debut album 'The First Day' to his last EP release, the organic opus 'Human Being - The Short Story Of The Reed'. Collaborations have included Makaya McCraven, Oddisee, Miles Bonny and First Word crew such as Eric Lau, Bastien Keb and Sarah Williams White, who he teamed up with on his classic remix of the track 'Hum' and most recently on the track 'One By One' which appeared on the compilation EP 'A Family Affair' at the start of 2021.

For his latest project, 'Movements' sits firmly in the realms of broken beat, after being heavily inspired at First Word's infamous 14th birthday party at Total Refreshment Centre, where he played alongside label-mates such as Kaidi Tatham and Children of Zeus. This delectable six-track EP encompasses a series of deeply percussive grooves and squelchy synths. This is a predominantly instrumental affair, though does feature the supremely soulful vocals of Oliver Night on the track 'Change Must Come', following on from Oliver's work with the CoOp Presents crew amongst others.

Quiet Dawn says "after the birth of my son, I took the time to get back to making new music.

And when I started to work on new tracks, I wanted to compose something without concept, unlike my previous records, just because time is precious and I wanted to find pleasure again when I composeand not be fixed to a concept, or a story.



These new tracks are instinctive; made with my main instruments, rhodes & piano, synths, percussions, vocals, bass and guitars. They are naturally oriented towards my big musical crush, BRUK, along with different rhythms, vibes and grooves. For me, it's definitely a record for the dancers. For this reason, the new EP is called 'Movements'. Aside from the dancer's element, the title relates to everything that is happening in the world at the moment, working on this record over the pandemic. Affecting people in all countries, friendship, mutual aid, solidarity and movements in many instances are very important to me, my family and my musical family, First Word.'



The influences on this particular EP come largely from the West London music scene; DKD, Bugz, Neon Phusion, 2000Black, Domu, IG Culture, Jazztronik, MdCL, the First Word fam and many many more artists. There are also heavy vibes inspired by 70's jazz, funk, disco, latin & african music."

'Movements' by Quiet Dawn is released on First Word Records on vinyl & digital in late 2021.